Session 9
Mark 11:15-25
Memory Verse: Mark 11:17
Praying is an activity that can and should turn into a lifestyle, but we all struggle with obstacles that get in the way of prayer times. The obstacle can be as ordinary as a crowded schedule or as extraordinary as a misunderstanding of God and how He wants to relate to us. For example, our unwillingness to forgive someone can hinder our prayers.
None of these obstacles should be ignored if we are to have a healthy prayer relationship with God. In Mark 11:15-26, Jesus proved how seriously He takes obstacles to prayer. He cleansed the temple in Jerusalem so the Gentiles, people most Jews hated, could focus on God better.
As you dig into this session, ask God to help you root out the things keeping you from focusing completely on Him during prayer.
Many people face issues related to heart disease. One of the most common problems is atherosclerosis, or blocked arteries, restricting the flow of blood. Like blockages restricting blood flow, obstacles can develop in our prayer lives that hinder us from effectively communicating with God. It is important that we recognize these blockages and know how to treat them. (PSG, p. 82)
Mark recounted how Jesus continued His trip toward Jerusalem and the cross. Instead of going straight into Jerusalem, Jesus stopped at Bethany and probably stayed at the home of His friends, Lazarus, Martha, and Mary. Bethany was only a short distance from the main city and also provided easy access to one of Jesus’s favorite spots, the garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives.
Jesus sent two of His disciples into the city to start the preparations for His arrival (11:1-3). He told the men to bring Him a particular donkey that they would find at a specific location. The disciples found things exactly as Jesus described. The owner put up no quarrel after finding out that Jesus was the One making the request.
When they returned, Jesus got on the animal and began what has become known as the “triumphal entry” (11:4-10). Readers often note that people in the crowd praising Jesus on His arrival that day—recognizing Him as a fulfillment of messianic prophecy—were probably among the mob calling for His death just a few days later.
Jesus returned to Bethany for the night, but He came back to Jerusalem the next day. During this trip, He cleared the temple complex of the merchants who had set up shop in an area known as the court of the Gentiles. The temple, He said, was a place of worship—even the area set aside for non-Jews. However, it was being used as a trading post instead of a place of worship where people could experience the Father (11:15-19).
The next day Jesus and the disciples passed a withered fig tree (11:20-26). Jesus had cursed the tree for its lack of fruit the day before, and the disciples were amazed that it had died so quickly. Jesus used the opportunity as another teachable moment, reminding those closest to Him about the power of prayer and faith.
The religious leaders in Jerusalem had seen the response Jesus had elicited from the crowd, and it deepened their desire to do away with Him. They intensified their verbal attacks, along with their attempts to discredit His teaching (11:27-33). But Jesus never fell for their tricks. Rather, He warned His audience about the leaders’ deceit by sharing stories and logical teaching (12:1-37).
One warning He issued related to the leaders’ selfish treatment of the less fortunate. He noted that instead of helping the helpless, they consumed what little individuals did have (12:38-40). As a living illustration, Jesus pointed His followers’ attention to a poor woman putting money in the temple boxes. While she would be blessed for her sacrifice, the burdens placed on her by the religious establishment ran contrary to what the law actually intended and what actually pleased God (12:41-44).
As you read Mark 11:15-25, highlight the conditions for answered prayer. Summarize in your own words what these verses teach about prayer.
EXPLORE THE TEXT
15 They came to Jerusalem, and he went into the temple and began to throw out those buying and selling. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves, 16 and would not permit anyone to carry goods through the temple. 17 He was teaching them: “Is it not written, My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations? But you have made it a den of thieves!”
(v. 15) Throw out: This event took place in an area of the temple known as the court of the Gentiles. This was as far as any non-Jew could go in the temple complex.
Jesus had been there the day before after entering the city and had taken in all that was happening within the courtyard. Instead of being a place for prayer and worship, He saw that the courtyard had become nothing more than a marketplace and stockyard. Travelers from all over came to buy animals for the necessary sacrifices to be made during Passover.
Upset over the noise and distractions being created in the courtyard, Jesus began forcing the merchants and their livestock out of the area. Through His actions, Jesus was challenging the authority of the high priest. It is noteworthy that this event is recorded in all four Gospels, though John placed it earlier in Jesus’s ministry. Since it took place in the court of the Gentiles, the narrative also affirmed God’s plan for Jesus the Messiah to draw all nations toward Him.
(v. 15) Money changers: In addition to those selling animals, these merchants were in the courtyard because travelers needed to exchange their Roman and Greek coins for Jewish coins. These coins were the only ones accepted by merchants, and they were required to pay their temple tax. Many money changers charged an exorbitant rate for each transaction. This form of dishonesty only added to Jesus’s anger surrounding the situation.
(v. 15) Selling doves: Doves (or pigeons) were a regular part of several of the sacrifices made at the temple. Women would have bought doves to make a sacrifice following the birth of a child. Lepers and others healed of some diseases also offered doves as sacrifices. Cattle and sheep were likely available to those who could afford them; but for those who couldn’t afford expensive animals for their sacrifices, doves were an acceptable alternative.
(v. 16) Carry goods: Mark was the only Gospel writer to include this fact in his account of the temple cleansing. He alluded to the fact that people were using the courtyard of the Gentiles as a shortcut to get from one side of town to the other while carrying all of their goods. Again, this had nothing to do with the purpose of this area of the temple. Such foot traffic was just another example of the distractions people had to overcome to experience genuine worship.
(v. 17) House of prayer: In evaluating the situation, Jesus quoted from Isaiah 56:7, where the prophet declared that God’s house is to be a house of prayer. Based on what He was seeing, though, Jesus knew that God’s house was anything but a peaceful haven for worship. Those within the court of Gentiles had defiled it with their businesses and made it difficult to worship and, in some cases, cheated those who had come for sacred purposes.
Mark is also the only Gospel that adds the words for all nations at the end of Jesus’s quote. This again affirmed the fact that Jesus had come for everyone, not just a select few. The Gentiles deserved access to God along with the Jews.
(v. 17) Den of thieves: Again, Jesus used a quote from the Old Testament, this time from the prophet Jeremiah (Jer. 7:11). Just as Jeremiah had called out those who were going to the temple with the wrong motives and attitudes, Jesus also called out those who had turned the temple into a den of thieves.
18 The chief priests and the scribes heard it and started looking for a way to kill him. For they were afraid of him, because the whole crowd was astonished by his teaching. 19 Whenever evening came, they would go out of the city.
(v. 18) Chief priests and the scribes: The religious leaders had become increasingly afraid of the following that had grown around Jesus. They worried about the impact He could have on the crowds coming to Jerusalem from all over during the Passover celebration. Mark recorded that people were amazed and astonished at His teaching, which caused even more concern for the leaders. Along with being jealous of Jesus’s popularity, they were upset about the way He redefined the law, as well as their own interpretations and rituals related to the law.
(v. 18) Kill him: The convergence of all their pride and fears led the religious leaders to start looking for ways to get rid of their problem. Emotions have a way of diverting our attention from what’s most important. While the religious leaders should have been focusing on praying and teaching God’s ways faithfully, their attention was consumed with eliminating the threat of Jesus, even if it meant killing Him.
Earlier in Jesus’s ministry, the Pharisees had conspired with the Herodians (members of the Jewish aristocracy who supported the ruler Herod Antipas) to destroy Him (Mark 3:6). All of them envied Jesus’s authority and popularity with the Jewish people, which they saw as threatening their own positions and power over the people.
(v. 19) Afraid . . . astonished: Mark had used this pairing of words previously when he described the reactions of travelers to Jesus steadfastly moving toward Jerusalem (Mark 10:32). In that case, Jesus’s disciples were amazed at His commitment to face opposition and death in Jerusalem, while other travelers were fearful of what might happen to Jesus. In this passage, the religious leaders were afraid of Jesus, in addition to their jealousy, while those who heard Him speak and saw His actions stood in awe.
The Greek word used for afraid is phobeo, which is where we get our English suffix “phobia.” While it can mean “to hold in reverence,” it also can be translated “terrify” or “dread.” This negative meaning fits the context. The religious leaders were terrified of Jesus and His influence on the crowds.
(v. 19) Whenever evening came: Jesus didn’t cause a scene at the temple and then run away to avoid the retaliation of the Jewish leaders. Quite the opposite, He and His disciples remained at the temple throughout the remainder of the day, and He continued teaching the crowds that had gathered to listen to Him until evening came. That He placed Himself in public view underscored His trust in His Father in the face of deadly opposition and His compassion for everyone whose hearts had been stirred by His instruction.
In truth, while the leaders were terrified of Him, Jesus had no reason to be afraid of His opponents. The time of His death would come soon enough, but only in keeping with the Father’s plan of salvation. It would not happen until that appointed hour, so He was committed to revealing the kingdom and fulfilling the task the Father had given Him.
(v. 19) Out of the city: As was their practice, just before nightfall Jesus and His disciples made their way out of Jerusalem. Mark did not identify where they were headed, but Matthew’s Gospel notes they were headed to the village of Bethany (Matt. 21:17). Bethany was located a couple of miles southeast of Jerusalem on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives and was situated on the road to Jericho. The walk from Jerusalem to Bethany would have taken no more than an hour.
Jesus and the disciples had friends in Bethany so it made sense for them to go there. Also, considering the murderous attitudes of the religious leaders, it would make sense for them to remove themselves from the city after dark in the days leading up to Passover.
Passover
Passover was the first festival of the Jewish year and one of the three annual festivals where all Jewish males were required to come to the temple in Jerusalem. To learn more about Passover, study Exodus 12 and Leviticus 23.
20 Early in the morning, as they were passing by, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up. 21 Then Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” 22 Jesus replied to them, “Have faith in God. 23 Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, everything you pray and ask for — believe that you have received it and it will be yours. 25 And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven will also forgive you your wrongdoing.”
(v. 21) The fig tree . . . has withered: As Jesus and His disciples were traveling back from Bethany to Jerusalem the next day, they passed a fig tree that Jesus had cursed earlier in the week. At the time, Jesus had told His followers that no one would ever eat of that tree’s fruit again and that it would be completely destroyed (see Mark 11:12-14).
Surprised at how the tree had deteriorated so quickly, Peter pointed it out to Jesus. Even though Mark didn’t interpret its meaning, many scholars believe that Jesus was using the withered tree as an illustration of what would eventually happen to the temple. In AD 70, the Romans destroyed the temple, leaving it as cursed and desolate as the fig tree.
Fig Trees
Fig trees are mentioned nearly sixty times in the Bible. Its leaves are first mentioned in Genesis 3:7, when Adam and Eve tried to cover their nakedness. In the Middle East, the leaves of the fig tree appear in the spring (April-May), but ripe figs don’t arrive until June. In addition to cursing a fig tree here, Jesus also used the fig tree as a sign of His coming (Mark 13:28-29).
(v. 22) Have faith: Jesus emphasized that Christ followers must demonstrate faith in God. In the days before Jerusalem fell to Babylon, the Jews put their faith in the city and the temple (Jer. 7:1-7,12-15). By the first century, religious leaders wanted the people to trust their interpretations of the law. But Jesus taught that God must be the object of our faith. That is the only way He will work in our lives.
(v. 23) Truly I tell you: Jesus seized this teachable moment to explain why steadfast faith in God is so important. Standing on the Mount of Olives and overlooking the Dead Sea in the distance, Jesus said faith could move a mountain into the sea. The hyperbole allowed Jesus to reinforce the truth that nothing is impossible with God. The use of truly adds weight to Jesus’s words as completely trustworthy.
(v. 23) Does not doubt: Jesus also highlighted the fact that genuine faith leaves no room for doubt. The one who harbors doubt will never see results from their faith. Later, James would point out that a double-minded person—one who wavers between doubt and faith—lacks spiritual stability (Jas. 1:5-8).
(v. 24) Believe that you have received: As He taught about prayer, Jesus encouraged His followers to ask freely and to believe that God would hear. That does not imply that our prayers obligate God to grant every request. In fact, the answer He often provides is “no” because our requests do not align with His will. But true faith helps us discern His will, making it more likely that our prayers match His plans.
(v. 25) Forgive: Just as faith is an essential element of prayer, so is forgiveness. If we want our prayers to be effective, we cannot come to God while holding a grudge. We cannot expect Him to answer them if we are not even able to forgive others—or to seek forgiveness from others if needed.
The Scriptures
Scripture reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. (See Isaiah 40:8; Hebrews 4:12.)
Observe when and for what purpose a New Testament passage includes an Old Testament quotation.
Identify the Old Testament passage quoted by Jesus in Mark 11:17. Read the quoted passages in their Old Testament context. Then search for answers to these questions: Why did Jesus use the quoted passage? What factors are different in the old and new contexts? What factors are the same or similar? How does the quoted passage help you better understand Jesus’s teaching?